Most Shared

What Would Yeezus Wear?Kanye West's Style Evolution

“Respect my trendsetting abilities,” decreed Kanye West in a recent New York Times interview. “I understand culture. I am the nucleus.” When it comes to music, the rapper’s six consecutive platinum albums vouch for such claims. But fashion has proven a trickier terrain for West to navigate. A disciple-like enthusiasm and close designer friendships haven’t kept the self-proclaimed “Louis Vuitton Don” from making a few style missteps over the years, from an ill-advised mullet to outlandish gold chains to a fondness for coordinating outfits with girlfriend (and mother of his newborn daughter), Kim Kardashian.

More notably, West’s wardrobe has taken a turn for the androgynous, with the rapper performing in outré pieces like a beaded Maison Martin Margiela mask, a Céline silk blouse, and a leather Givenchy skirt. Such ensembles reflect the same boundary-pushing impulse at play in West’s new album, Yeezus, out today. Aggressive and brash, the record is the performer’s most provocative to date. (Almost as provocative as, say, a rap star wearing a skirt).

Trendsetting prowess aside, it’s ultimately West’s ability to think outside the menswear department—expressing himself as freely through fashion as he does through verse—that cements his status as a true style original.